The present invention relates generally to packaging a group of flanged articles such as yogurt cups, and more particularly to a package using a so called wrap-around carton which accommodates a group of flanged articles arranged in two tiers in a top-to-top contacting relation. The invention also relates to a method of forming such a package.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,531 discloses a package in which a multiple of flanged articles are accommodated in a wrap-around carton. The disclosed package includes a tubular, open-ended outer wrapper covering a group of flanged articles arranged in two tiers in a top-to-bottom contacting relation and a partition provided between the upper and lower tiers. Both the carton and the partition are provided with pairs of slots for receiving the article flanges to prevent endwise dislodgement of the articles from the carton. Each pair of slots are provided for one article.
French Patent No. 1,383,034 also shows a package of flanged articles arranged in two tiers. The package of this patent employs no partition between the two tiers; however, article-retaining flaps are separately formed respectively for the articles in the package.
The disadvantages of these conventional packages exist not only in the carton structures having a number of retaining means such as slots or flaps but also in the packaging process wherein two positioning processes, i.e., positioning of the articles in one of the tiers relative to those in the other tier and positioning of the carton relative to the two-tier group of articles, are separately required.
What is needed, therefore, is a package for a two-tier group of flanged articles which package is formed with a carton of a simple structure having a smaller number of retaining means per one article and a method of forming such a package that facilitates positioning processes for the carton and the packaged articles.